Kitchen Remodel {The Reveal!}

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Kitchen Inspiration

Nine months ago, I started a kitchen remodel. FINALLY, nine months later, we are DONE! Kind of like having a baby, right? We are so excited to finally get to enjoy it!! You’ve seen the progress almost every step of the way, and now it’s time for the final shots and full room reveal! WOO HOO! Today I’ll show you the after pics, and then I have a separate follow up post to give you all the kitchen sources and other details you might want to know, since this is going to be long enough already!

While my newer builder’s kitchen was still in decent shape and certainly not the worst kitchen ever, I was excited about the challenge of creating a better layout for our needs and a bigger dose of charm and personality — on a reasonable person’s budget.

I really wanted this kitchen to feel like OURS, not the one the builder put together to look like every other house he built. Yet we wanted it to feel like it still belonged in this house! After living here for three years and not doing anything to the room except removing a few cabinet doors, I was ready to put my own personal stamp on this kitchen! Y’all know I’m a kitchen lover and it was painful for me to leave my last one behind.

Prior to our remodel, the kitchen family room was divided into three small sections, thanks to an awkward breakfast counter and two different flooring surfaces in the two rooms. My two girls love to cook and we like to host parties, so we wanted to find a way to create more open space without adding any more square footage.

By simply removing the breakfast bar that cut the room in two, we opened up the entire space to allow traffic to move more freely through the kitchen. That alone was a huge improvement and completely transformed the space! We can now fit more cooks in the kitchen and there is plenty of room for guests to mill about the room. No more collisions.

And best of all, we actually gained storage and a nice long counter in the process because we added two banks of drawers and installed our existing dishwasher right next to the sink. The breakfast bar cabinet had only enough room for one small cabinet and our dishwasher, so this was a big improvement layout AND storage-wise! If ONLY we had been here when the builder was building the house, I could have have intervened and told him there was a better way. Hehehe.

All the other cabinets are the existing cabinets, we just painted them.

Remember how it looked before? All choppy?

Somehow the whole kitchen just looks wider and bigger, even though it isn’t!

We absolutely LOVE the open layout with the nice long expanse of counter space and all the new drawers! When we remodeled our old kitchen we put in all drawers and it was a dream, I really love drawers for storage.

After removing that breakfast bar, we could see that that opening up our kitchen made the entire space feel so much better. Phew! No more obstacle course to move around the room! So why stop there? We decided to open up our kitchen even more by removing the few awkward upper cabinets around the stove.

I’m only 5’2 tall so the only shelves I could reach in the cabinets without getting out a step stool were the lower ones, so they weren’t all that useful to me for everyday storage. And as you know, I like to actually use what we have! Our house is just not big enough for excess clutter. And, overflowing cabinets filled with excess clutter makes me crazy. So there is that.

And now that we have new drawers for every day dishes, we really didn’t need those cabinets anyway. Again, by living in our kitchen for several years before we made big changes, we knew what we needed and what we didn’t need. We felt very confident in most of our decisions, which was nice.

Without the added bulk of upper cabinets weighing down this small kitchen, the space feels so much cleaner and way more open. Another thing we’ve really noticed about not having upper cabinets in that area is the impression of much more counter space when you are preparing a meal! It feels so much brighter and less claustrophobic, so that is a big PLUS!

And as you can see, we were able to transform that entire back wall with subway tile and a gray grout, which provided a nice clean but architecturally interesting backdrop for our kitchen. Subway tile is a classic, never goes “out of style.” And like any update to a kitchen, if you decide in twenty years you want something new, you can change it then! I still love my subway tile walls in my old kitchen so it was fun to bring that same element to my new kitchen. It feels like home, but with a new twist.

We also brought more personality and interest to the room by painting our remaining upper cabinets white and the lowers a charcoal gray. I think the two toned effect brings a much fresher and more interesting feel to the room than if we had gone with all white, I really love seeing the contrasts and textures. Now with all the subway tile, wood walls and white counters and upper cabinets, we have more than enough white for this room.

The neutral dark and light cabinets look great with ANY color we might want to use as an accent in rugs or accessories, so I’m going to have fun in here playing with accessories.

We had removed those cabinet doors pretty much the first day we owned the house (a free update!), but it is great to see it all freshened up now painted white and with the added tongue and groove vertical paneling, subway tile and new counters. Sigh! While I am still considering adding glass doors someday, removing doors for open shelving always gives a lot of bang for minimal buck!

As you can see, all of our appliances are the same as they were, nothing new except the range hood — even though I would have LOVED a new fridge and stove!! We still have my little DIY framed chalkboard on the same fridge, if something didn’t need immediate updating, we left it alone for now!

As you go around the corner to the little hall between my office, powder room and the kitchen, you can see how the new paneling and my maps really brought nice texture and personality to an otherwise small and previously uneventful hallway. I love small spaces because you can give them so much personality.

We also changed another light fixture in the kitchen, check out that beautiful white one on the ceiling! This Barnlight Electric fixture replaced one that used to be over our kitchen table. It hung down so low we had to keep a table under it and even so we always bumped our head on it.

The new light fixture is full of personality and doesn’t get in the way of walking or your line of sight from the kitchen to the family room. We decided to go with a white finish on it so it wouldn’t stand out too much in the middle of the room, but yet it is SO charming you can’t help but smile when you see it!

We decided that since we already have a dining table right outside of the kitchen, we really didn’t need another table at least right now. With space at a premium, we took the table out and replaced it with a small conversation area which we LOVE. I’m glad we tried it without a table, less is definitely more.

This set up is actually perfect for chatting with friends while doing dishes! I’ve had the chairs forever and just keep updating them with white paint. They are so comfortable and easy to move around to the family room as needed. Flexible furnishings are a must in a small space!

And speaking of doing dishes, I adore my exposed apron front Kohler sink with the single basin (my favorite!). I love it so much I can’t stand to see a dirty pile of dishes in it, so I’m extra compelled to polish my sink every night before bed.

Our counters are a nice white quartz called Caeserstone Organic White. We love how they reflect light in the room and give a nice contrast to the rustic Hickory wood floors. See the whale tail tongs in the white crock? Gotta have a bit of whale in every room right?

If you have specific questions on anything, all of the sources and details on where we got things we be in a source round up later this week, so stay tuned for more info but feel free to ask questions in this post so I will know what to answer in the upcoming posts.

But because I loved my wood counters so much in our old house (you can see our old kitchen remodel here), we decided to incorporate one wood counter in our kitchen — on our small island. Wood counters elsewhere would have been too much since we already installed gorgeous new Mohawk Hickory wood floors, so I’m really glad I went with the white quartz for the perimeter counter tops.

I really like the feel of a real “working kitchen.” So having easy access to every day baking items and even using them as display is a look I’ve always liked. I like to see stuff we actually use, rather than just expensive display items.

Of course, as with any affordable kitchen makeover, updating paint and hardware played a huge part in the transformation! Charcoal lower cabinets and white uppers brought a nice modern but still classic feel to my kitchen. It was fun to select traditional elements such as bin pulls in a slightly more modern shape just to give the kitchen traditional modern feel.

Hardware is like the jewelry of a room so it is a fun way to bring out your kitchen’s personality! I’ll have all the details on the hardware and where I got it all in the upcoming source post.

I could not adore the new sconces any more if I tried. I’m so glad I decided to add them, their soft glow and bit of mirrored sparkle really give the room so much warmth, much like a lamp would! I love the Edison bulbs too!

And along the lines of loving a “working kitchen” you may have seen our pantry reveal a week or so ago. We decided to open it up to the room by removing the door and filling in all the hinge holes so it looks like a nice framed opening. I’m telling ya, having things we use every day easily accessible and even on display is THE BEST motivation I’ve found for keeping things pretty, orderly and clean.

You might also notice our microwave is now located in the pantry. We love having it in there. It improved kitchen traffic flow in the work zones, and freed up more space in the kitchen, but is only a few steps away from the kitchen island so it is still convenient.

This is our life, our home, our kitchen. This photo was from Instagram last week with Grandma cooking for the grandkids in our kitchen! We really LIVE here, and that is the true test of any successful kitchen remodel. If it is too precious or uncomfortable for what you do every day, or if you splurged so much on fine details that you can no longer afford to bring groceries home to your own kitchen, it isn’t worth having in my opinion.

Jack’s dog food is always sitting out, so why not make it kind of cute and store it in an IKEA trash can? A simple rag rug protects the floor from spills and a Goodwill child’s chair holds his food up to make it easier for him to reach it! And yes, his water bowl fit in a plant urn. Simple, real life solutions are what I love the most.

Jack runs through this kitchen, screeching around the corners sliding this way and that, we cook and bake here, we spill stuff and make messes, laugh together, hang out by the fireplace and spend so much time living life right here in this space. It isn’t perfect or fancy, but our family kitchen is a blessing and we really love it!

*Update: here’s a more recent photo of our kitchen in Fall 2014 from my Fall House Tour!

So, it is done! But I don’t believe I’ve ever actually FINISHED a room. So, while it is done for now and I love it, I’m sure it will never be finished. I’ll be tweaking and working on more details over time, because that is the fun of having a home!

gah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if you only could hear my audible sighs & gasps!
homerun!!
love every detail. we have a collision style kitchen…sigh….i just love all the bright crispness and charm and functionality….and the fact that jack’s water bowl is in an urn? stop.

Now that’s a kitchen!!! Gorgeous! Love your cabinetry and the two colors…nice! Open shelving so nice to show some display and love the tile with darker grout! Sweet island, love the wood top…everything is wonderful!!!
Blessings,
Cindy

Thank you! Yes, I’ll put all the details in the source post too but the walls are Glidden Polished Grey and the ceiling in the kitchen is Glidden Polished Limestone, the ceiling in the family room is Glidden Wood Smoke. The pantry is Polished Grey as well. :-)Melissa recently posted..Kitchen Remodel {The Reveal!}

Okay, I am excited about this reveal! I love almost everything here.
1) the charcoal bottom cabinets goes great with the steel appliances, it would look all washed up if they were white.
2) I love your knobs, I really do!
3) I like the space above the stove instead of all that clutter for all to see! it’s like the space is actually sighing “Ahhhhh”
4) I like the plant urn water dish for Jack, looks a whole lot better than a plastic bowl!
I really enjoyed looking through the photos and I am sure I can comment on EVERYTHING but I will let others do some… hee heeMarieRoxanne recently posted..April 1

Awesome! Love it! Such great space planning and lovely choices. Love those sconces and subway tiles. Oh, and congrats to Jack. One of my faves is his area of the kitchen. Congrats on a successful “birthing” of a new kitchen. (:

Absolutely lovely and homey and delightful and organized and spacious and cheerful and to-die-for! Can’t wait for all the details and product info! Thank you so much for sharing your kitchen makeover. It is truly inspiring!

Melissa, this is just beautiful, down to the very last detail (that hardware!!). I love that you truly rethought the function of your space — replacing the kitchen table with your sweet conversation area is just ideal to me! I just love how you mix a more modern, fresh style with some pretty, more detailed pieces. And that baking area is too perfect. I know you’re enjoying every inch of your new kitchen! Thanks for sharing.Kerry recently posted..A Belated Happy Easter, Brunch Recipes and Fasting!?

Oh My ! What a great makeover ! You did a wonderful job here ! I love the color you chose for the cabinets and I totally agree with you about the drawers, they’re so much more efficient than cupboards when it comes to the kitchen organization. I also like the seating area. Thanks for sharing and cheers from France !

Your kitchen turned out wonderful! The details are beautiful and it makes such a difference. I’ve been through a DIY kitchen remodel and it is like giving birth, lol. It took me about the same amount of time to finish mine. Of course, now I’m hooked on kitchen remodels so I couldn’t wait to see yours finished. It’s beautiful and I’m happy to see you and your family enjoying it!Jennifer recently posted..Warming Up the Entry

This is absolutely beautiful! I love all the different textures and colors. Can’t wait for the follow up with specifics…
What a wonderful place to work and actually live. I agree wholeheartedly with your philosophy! Congratulations, well done! Yea! Now to enjoy it!
Congratulations to Jack too!! What a sweet and loving member of your family!

Your kitchen does look fantastic I love the openness and it does look wider and bigger. I love your oven and was wondering what brand it was and how many burners it has., I also adore that farmhouse sink. I am going to get one of them when we build our new home which you can see on my blog. Beautiful space.

It looks amazing! so bright and airy and it has great flow! I’m curious is (like my kitchen reno) if now at night no matter how tired you are you are finding yourself wiping things up and doing dishes late at night JUST so when you walk in there in the AM….it looks great. I used to be a dish washer in the AM….and now I’m cleaning it 5 times a day….lolChristine recently posted..A Cream Dish Day

Such a lovely remodel! And I got so excited with the first picture because I have that same tray. It recently lost it’s home on a bookshelf, so I had actually considered getting rid of it, but it looks so pretty in your kitchen that I’m inspired to find a new home for it. :)

Well done Melissa!! I have been waiting since before Christmas for the pics, and here we are at last. I love grey. It is appearing all over my tiny house, on the walls behind the beds, in the bathrooms, and it may soon appear in my living room! I do like what you have done to your kitchen – a makeover that looks good, but done on your own budget, rather than some which you know cost a year’s salary to get right. It works for you and your family, which is now things should be. Enjoy yourselves with it, as I am sure you will!

Your kitchen is beautiful! I love its airy, open feel. The white pottery adds a warm and elegant touch to your cupboards. I love your daring nature to take the subway tile to the ceiling. It paid off!
My husband and I will be tackling a kitchen and dining room DIY next month. Thanks for the inspiration!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your kitchen remodel. We live in an area full of homes and subdivisions that were built quickly with no personality or individuality and you’ve proven that can be changed! The white tiles are amazing and reflect so much light back into your space. And with the cabinet pulled out it’s so open and makes the space look so much larger! Very inspirational!Sara Silver recently posted..Roasted Vegetables In 4 Steps…Food 52 Love Pt. 2

Love the remodel, Melissa! So bright and cheery! Where are all the dishes that were once in your upper cabinets? Like drinking glasses, wine glasses, etc.? Just wandered about the practicality of no uppers. I entertain so much, and even though I’m always thinning out, I still need the space. I have open shelves, too. Love all the white! And Jack, of course :)

Thanks Sandy! The new drawers (we have six brand new drawers, so we didn’t really lose storage!) hold all of those dishes that were in the uppers plus some are in the open shelving above the baking area. I’ll show some of the storage in another post sometime. We also have the little dish cabinet in the sitting area plus a buffet in the family room. :-)Melissa recently posted..Kitchen Remodel {The Reveal!}

Melissa, I agree with everyone here that you have created a beautiful kitchen. You have capitalized on the amazing natural light that your kitchen gets–what a luxury (for someone like me with a windowless kitchen). I love the knobs and the classiness of Jack’s water dish/urn.

Like Sandy I wondered about storage. Does it work to store drinking glasses in a lower drawer? How do you stabilize stemmed wineglasses and tall water glasses, for instance?

Your kitchen area is really lovely. I especially enjoyed seeing all the interesting finishing details in the photos. I loved all the little surprises, like seeing fun drawer pulls and stacks of bowls and cutting boards propped up.

The best part is that you and your family created a space that works for you and makes you happy every time you walk into it. Decorating a home should always be about the people who live there.

I LOVE IT! Wowsa! It’s just gorgeous. What an inspiration! My husband will graduate in May (after going back to school five years ago), and I look forward to doing some projects around our house. I plan on pinning this beauty to use as inspiration for our kitchen. :)
Blessings!
ChristyChristy recently posted..Four!

Oh so pretty!! LOVE what you’ve done with it – and how bright and open it is. Completely in love with your sink. That’s on my must-have list when we buy our next house!Karie {Girl Going Country} recently posted..Easter Card

So charming….can’t wait to see the supplier list….I love your backsplash tile and sink!! Of course, the photo of Jack in front of the sink is beyond adorable, and the sneak peek of his eating area just makes me chuckle!!!…

Everything came together perfectly!! I do love the sitting area instead of a second dining area. Congrats to Jake (and his mommy) on being Pup of the Year! I must say that every famous pup needs to have his water bowl in an urn like that. Toooo cute!!!
I’m glad you had the vision to see that the kitchen would be better without the ‘L’…that would have escaped me entirely. I would have thought that I would be losing precious worktop space. If I plan any changes in my next kitchen…I will seek you out! ;) The white cabinets and tile really do open and brighten the space. Love it! And the charcoal plays well against the wood for a needed color and temperature contrast. You are the queen of details…from drawer pulls to light fixtures. :)
You must be breathing many sighs of relief to have the project finished. Bravo!Diane recently posted..Sun Room Metamorphosis :: Spring Decor

This post was sooo worth the wait! The transformation is amazing and what I really love about it is that it really reflects your style and personality — no more cookie cutter kitchen. I am jealous of your huge window above your gorgeous apron sink! Fantastic, Melissa! Thanks for sharing! :)Julie recently posted..Garden Tours and Outdoor Inspiration

Oh wow. What a stunning transformation. I love the lack of upper cabinets. We are in the middle of redoing our kitchen (shoot me if it takes 9 months) and when we got the old cabinets down I loved how it felt without them. Of course in our tiny kitchen, not having uppers was not an option, but I do love the effect. With every picture I thought, “That’s my favorite thing,” but then I came to the photo of your knobs and I can say with great certainty that those are by far my favorite thing in the room. I love, love, love it. I hope my kitchen turns out half as nice as yours!Erin recently posted..A kitchen about face

Great Job on your kitchen! Absolutely gorgeous! My husband and I are at the beginning stages of a kitchen remodel. My question is what kind of paint finish did you use on your cabinets? And how did you go about finding a professional painter? I keep going back and forth on painting new wood cabinets vs. buying cabinets with a baked on finish (like what you get at Home Depot). Your kitchen is truly inspirational:)

Oh my gosh!! AAHH-mazing makeover. It is GORGEOUS!!!! I know you must be thrilled with it and so happy to have all of the work behind you. Congratulations!!! :) Enjoy your wonderful “new” space.Kitty recently posted..Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream

The kitchen is just beautiful, taking out that wall made all the difference in the world. Love the grey and white color combo so fresh! I will have to show my hubby this, we have to take out all our lower cabinets because of mold damage and I want to replace them with grey while keeping the uppers white, I keep getting the “eye” Men :)
XO
Kristin

I absolutely love your kitchen, is the perfect little kitchen, love the clutter free approach. The kitchen is simple, stylish and has the “been there forever” feel. Being a baker myself I love the baking corner! You have a lovely house! But may I say what I like best is you can feel the love in every corner of it, in every detail and that is what truly makes a space shine! Enjoy it!

Melissa, it’s absolutely beautiful!! I know you are loving every inch of this gorgeous space. All your attention to detail shines through so bright. I adore all your choices, well done, my friend. No doubt this kitchen will get in a magazine soon!

The kitchen looks wonderful!! What a gigantic huge improvement over the old one! The old one looked dark and depressing. The new one is all light and fun. I’m all for letting in more light and the new one certainly does that with the white subway tiles, the whole openness of the kitchen and the white upper cabinets. Oh, and the white planking on the other walls. Fantastic! I love the way you pay attention to details such as the draw pulls and cute knobs. It really sets off the gray cabinets nicely. I love, love, love your hickory floors throughout the house too. It’s like getting a brand new house! Enjoy it for years to come!

What stikes me the most, Melissa, is your vision. To see a “new” space and know how to transform it into something a million times better in function and beauty. And oh the beauty!! I am in love.Barbara (WA) recently posted..The Little Dresser

I knew it would be amazing! I see that you stopped the tile on the sink wall and left an area for color. I really like that I was thinking of running tile to the ceiling on all my kitchen walls but maybe it would be too much. Always inspiring, thanks.

Yes, I originally was going to go all the way up on that side too but once the tiler was tiling that side of the room it struck us….it would be too much. Because that sink wall runs all the way across through to the family room, once we saw the tile going up we felt like we needed to connect the walls rather than divide them too much with tile just in the kitchen. Having that bit of color on top to connect the rooms was the way to go in our case! Glad we caught it before it was all tiled! Somehow that bit of color warms things up too and allows the big wall to be the focal point of tile. :-)Melissa recently posted..Kitchen Remodel {The Reveal!}

Looks so beautiful, I bet you will love the baking station!!! I am going through a kitchen reno right now and giving birth was easier, haha. I’d like to know if your mug tree is something that is I can buy (love it)….

Melissa, I would say you hit the ball out of the park. I absoutely love all of your changes and I also appreciate you explaining why you made some of your choices. It really does help the reader to follow along more easily. It is gorgeous, love the two metal choices for your hardware and the sconce is a favorite of mine too!!
Great job and thank you for sharing, I think it is definitely worth the wait!
Enjoy,
KathysueKATHYSUE recently posted..My Mantel Has A New Look!

Oh Melissa, this is stunning! You are so brave to take down the upper cabinets, and I am running to the garage to grab demo tools to take down mine…well, not yet…but it’s on my list! I love the subway tile all the way up, and the charcoal cabinets are a stunning contrast to the white. Fab! The island turned out beautifully, and I love the way the kitchen feels from beginning to end! Love the light fixture too! I am saving this link for my kitchen redo. Congratulations on the 9 month wait…no diapers or late night bottles for this delivery!

Can you tell me about your roman shades– source and color? I have struggled finding the right natural woven material for our gray and white kitchen. So many of them end up having a tinge of green; yours seem to be exactly what I am looking for!

That is so stunning! So well done! I saw your announcement on Instagram and had to click through to see it. We redid our kitchen in the last several months, similar color scheme. I love the charcoal! The hardware is what really caught my eye!! I want to change mine now:) love subway tile! It made a huge light difference in ours and changing counters to white helped too! I love your space. So well done, well thought out and functional! Great job!!

This kitchen is really nice. I have never posted a comment on this blog before.

I love the mix and match hardware. The bars are simple, a bit different, the knobs are like jewelry.

I recently changed my garage into a studio w/ a kitchen area (no range) I bought lamps that look similar to your wall sconces. You were smart enough not to plan shelving under these lamps. I was forced to use wire shelving so the lamps won’t have an obstructed light.
Also a question. You ran the subway tile up to the ceiling except for the sink wall. I wonder why?
Of course the Jack pics are so cute.

I love your new kitchen! It looks great without the upper cabinets-so fresh and modern. Great tile, great accents (rabbit pulls) gorgeous lighting! Beautiful job.Elisa recently posted..Blossoming into Yellow

Hi Melissa! Your kitchen is stunning. Absolutely perfect! Quick question about the shades- ar there shades on our sliding glass door? I love the look and am wondering if they are functional. I have drapes at the moment but they are too heavy. Can you open the door? Does your husband bump his head when he goes in and out? Thanks!

It turned out lovely! I immediately started looking around my kitchen to see if any of your transformations would be possible… Decided it might transform my marriage for the worse;-) Love it though! Great inspiration.The Virginia House recently posted..Etsy Spring Fling & A New CHRIST IS.. Sign

I love your kitchen makeover – so clever. And especially your decision to lose the overhead cupboards. It’s a bit of thing with me, but when I did my kitchen, because I had enough storage elsewhere, I ditched the overhead cupboards and the kitchen was suddenly larger and lighter.

Down with the overhead cupboards I say!

Seriously, a wonderful makeover and inspiring to see that what are basically relatively small changes can totally change the feel and functionality of a room. Shows the importance of considered design.

It’s so gorgeous I’m at a loss for words. I too, love having my kitchen being beautiful as well as operational at the same time. My next kitchen redo will take so many pages from your book. I even adore Jack’s food and water containers. So creative!

Wow. Did you just crawl into one of my dreams?! Your kitchen and all the fabulous details really spark a chord with me. I could move in and enjoy without a hitch. Also loving the way you use it to really live in and not just for show. (Though it certainly is a showpiece)
Another thing that I love is the way you’ve explained all the whys and reasoning behind your design decisions. It’s really made me stop and think about what I want to do and how it will really fit our lifestyle.
Thanks for the inspiration.

I love, love LOVE this makeover. So clean, bright and modern. I wish I had the space to go without uppers, it really makes the room look much larger, also really like the dark base cabinets against the hickory floors.
I have had boxes of subway tile in my garage for a year now planning to do my back splash, after seeing your transformation I need to get to work!

Oh my goodness gracious, do you just want to hang out in there and cook nonstop?! My favorites are the baking center, the hardware and sconces are beautiful statements, and of course taking the the subway tiles to the ceiling was genius! What a wonderful space you’ve created for your family, Melissa!Pam recently posted..spring table with wheat grass…

Gorgeous!!!It looks sooooo good and quite different from where it started. I love the white upper cabinets with the dark lower ones. And you have seating in actual chairs in your kitchen. Man. LOVE IT!Kelly – Talk of the House recently posted..A Pinterest Dream House for Spring…Southern Style

you did an amazing job!! I am currently planning a renovation and it’s funny because I have many similar design elements planned that you executed beautifully. My layout is even almost identical, except the space between the sink and the sliding door will just accommodate the dishwasher. Well done!!jenn recently posted..Happy Easter 2013

Your kitchen turned out absolutely beautiful. Everything is so thought out and I love how taking out the attached island opened up your space so much especially since I used your kitchen photos tonight to show my husband why we have to do the same to ours. We’ve been contemplating it for awhile but my husband has a hard time visualizing all my plans! Our kitchen layout is almost exactly the same! So thank you thank you thank you!!! Looking forward to your source list! Great job!!!!laurie jones recently posted..Decorating Rules for Lighting the Dining Room

Looks wonderful, Melissa. I love all your white subway tile again (I put that in my kitchen too)… and the colors you have chosen. So great to see all that you have accomplished with it. I wonder – how did you attach a shelf right on the tile?Pam recently posted..In the Morning Room

It is really a warm and charming makeover!! Beautiful! The white subway tile just sets the tone for a pretty working space. I fell in LOVE w/ that mirror but I don’t see it on Lulu & Georgia. I hope they get it back in stock! It is gorgeous!

LOVE it Melissa!
It must be such a great feeling to have it done and ENJOY it now!
LOVE the bamboo chairs & cozy rug going into the kitchen.
Two questions:
Where did you get the bamboo shades and are the shades on windows through out the house too?
What do you suggest to buff your floors & give them a good shiney look every now & then?
And. Where did you get the mop that you featured to clean hardwood floors? Do you use the Bona cleaner whenever you clean the floors?
Okay.
That’s more than 2 questions.
I’ve got to come back & study this post!
Love it!
xo

Love your kitchen and understand how it can take so long. It does give you time to make each decision. I’m wondering how you were able to match hour exsisting cabinets. I save the same issue, newer kitchen bad design. We soon forget how they were throwing together hhouses during the boom. I cant seem to fond the same cabinetry.

I see a lot of kitchen renos, but this one stopped me dead in my tracks. Love it soooo… much. It looks like it functions well, but has all the components of a beautiful space. You must be in heaven. Enjoy!Shauna recently posted..Decorating My First Apartment {A Look Back}

Melissa, you are quite a talented designer and I am grateful that you open yourself and your home to us almost daily. You are inspiring and lovely to “be around”. Thank you so much! Congratulations on completing your kitchen — it looks warm and comfortable and functional — so perfect! I’m happy for you.

Wow! I’ve been stalking your blog for quite some time now (but don’t worry… I’m a harmless stalker, who just likes to look at all of your decorating ideas, because ain’t nobody got time to be a crazy stalker with two boys running wild in the house!), and this post is my favorite! I love, love, LOVE your new kitchen, and listen: Now I think I’m coveting your cabinets just a touch! And I think I’d like to have you over for coffee, so that you could sit at my dining room table and say, “Girl! How can you live like this, with these blank walls and these rugs that don’t coordinate with your throw pillows? Let me help you; let me redecorate your house.” Of course, I would buy you Starbucks and talk your ear off while you wandered around my house saying, “This picture has GOT to go… and this rug! Ugh! Throw it!”

I spy a beautiful little tray in the very first picture. What a beautiful kitchen! I’d be afraid to cook and mess it up, it’s sooooooo gorgeous!!! Love everything about it, I bet you all are really enjoying how open it all is now. Soooo very nice!!! Very excited for you and your family, what an outstanding remodel! I know I do not have to say this, but I will, “Enjoy!!!”

Not hard at all! Had a couple of guys come and bash it down! It took only a couple hours :-)! There is a post at the beginning of the process showing it being demoed if you want to see it, when I get to my computer I could even send the link.Melissa recently posted..Kitchen Remodel {The Reveal!}

Absolutely love your kitchen! We are currently planning a remodel but this gives me so many more things to consider. I was dead set on dark, possibly black counters but the way you are using white is giving me second thoughts. What size is your kitchen? It’s so hard for me to gauge it from the pictures. I love following your blog. We are working on a closet to pantry project right now.

Oh my goodness! It’s FANTASTIC!! I’ve gobbled up every post you have done about the kitchen. At first when you were talking about the reveal, I thought, eh, I’ve pretty much seen it. But then I see your gorgeous pictures and I’m gobbling that up just as much as the rest of the posts. I’ve been itching to do my kitchen all along but have been too scaredy-pants to do anything because I’m afraid I’ll mess it all up. You’re little reveals have been pinned for a long time! It’s all I can do to not run out and start prettying our kitchen RIGHT NOW!
But really, you’ve done an amazing job on this remodel fix-up. Every detail is perfection! Really, truly wonderful!Megan recently posted..Happy Easter!

I love your kitchen remodel. The new arrangement works so well and I love the gray on the bottom and white on top (we did the same colours in our kitchen and I never have tired of them).Grace recently posted..My Happy List

Wow! I LOVE it! We are doing our kitchen soon so I am always looking for inspiration. Without the uppers it looks so clean and open (and kind of European…) and I love the conversation/seating area instead of the extra table. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful remodel,
Krista @thehappyhousieKrista recently posted..DIY: A No-Sew Curtain in the Laundry Room

Your eye for detail always impresses me. The tray, the cute bunny knobs, the cabinet knobs, the urn for Jack’s bowl, the blue striped rug for “flair”. I’d love to know more about the countertop material. Is it solid or tiles? Oh, and the view from your windows is beautiful. I bet your yard is awesome, too!

Simply Stunning! I have to look at it every day cuz I find something new I didn’t see before. :)
can you tell me the exact name of the Barn Light light fixture in your hallway? I love it and quickly browsed online but didn’t see it..I probably just didn’t look long enough.
thanks!

Absolutely beautiful – love that it’s a working kitchen too. I’m planning to paint my kitchen cupboards this summer and you have inspired me into choosing a darker colour for the bottom ones and a lighter colour for the top ones. I really love the sconces too.Katherine recently posted..Ten on Tuesday

Oh my goodness Melissa, I LOVE your kitchen! You did such an amazing job with the colors, finishes, and fixtures. I saw in one of your prior posts that you included the paint colors, and I’d love to feature this on my paint color blog. You wouldn’t have to do a thing, just let me know if you’re interested!Jena recently posted..Ralph Lauren Stadium Red and Benjamin Moore Acadia White

Love, love, LOVE your kitchen! I’m going to print a picture of the view from the kitchen to your living room to post in my kitchen. I’ve been asking my husband to remove the wall between our kitchen and dining room for years and this will hopefully “inspire” him! Your little half walls with the columns are exactly what I’ve been asking for. Thanks!

I think I have read through this post a dozen times or more? This page has been open in my browser all week.
Smitten.
The cupboards! The windows and light and sink and island and lights and the floor — and it all works seamlessly and with authenticity and simplicity and personality.
Utterly smitten.
You definitely inspire us to create inspired rooms — and I personally can’t ever thank you enough, Melissa… You’ve taught me so much, Melissa…

I love how bright your kitchen is now! My favorite part is the new conversation area you added versus another table. That is a great idea that I may try in my kitchen. It is much more comfortable and practical than having another table. It would also force us to actually use our dining room instead of eating in the kitchen!

I’ve been looking at a ton of kitchen renovations, and I have to tell you that this post is one of the very best I’ve seen. Your kitchen is absolutely beautiful, and the way you explain your choices and the process is very, very helpful. I am drawn to the idea of a black/white/neutral kitchen, but am trying to find ways to make that color scheme warm and inviting, instead of cold and sterile. You nailed it, and you’ve given me lots of wonderful ideas to try to incorporate in my kitchen! Thanks for sharing your hard work!

Hi! Your kitchen is great! I have been watching your progress and was so excited to see the reveal! I am in the middle of a whole house remodel. Saving the kitchen for last. Can you post some of the dimensions of your kitchen? For instance the space between the refridgerator and walk way. What size if the fridge? How long is the section with the stove? The sink wall? Thank you for your help!

Thank you! Yes, I could get some measurements together. I’ve been asked that before so I guess it might be helpful! :-) I’ll try to post them soon!Melissa recently posted..{Ten Reasons To Buy A New House}

Your kitchen is soooooo beautiful! I love every little detail that you incorporated to make it the kitchen of your dreams! We have one of those breakfast bar layouts too, but unfortunately my sink is in that area so no removing it for me without a huuuge reno. Dangit. I’ll just sit here and stare at your some more!Rhonda recently posted..Spring Wreath Roundup

Melissa, this is a Fabulous makeover; very well done! You’ve made me a gray fan and I always thought that was impossible -smile-.
What do you think about marble for kitchen counters? I’ve 3 or 4 slabs of 4’x4′ Vermont white streaked marble and want to, eventually, use them in a kitchen. Twenty years ago, the slabs came out of the Louisa County, VA Courthouse, built 1905, and, prior, out of a Vermont quarry in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. The Vermont quarry has been closed since the 1950’s or ’60’s.
Thank you for your thoughts.Sandra at Thistle Cove Farm recently posted..Struggles and Trust

I can’t remember if I’ve commented already (and if I did, sorry for the double), but I have to tell you how much I LOVE your remodel! You are an absolute inspiration. We’re building our house right now and the kitchen is going in right away. I’ve also chosen darker lowers and white uppers, and yours are so pretty. The subway tile across the back wall is perfect! And that antiqued island… lovely. Thanks for sharing your kitchen!Christina recently posted..Planning Our Family Kitchen – Our DIY House

I just love everything about this kitchen – we’re in the middle of a kitchen rehab ourselves and this has served as great inspiration!

One quick question… on the RH drawer pulls, did you end up using the same size on all of them (regardless of drawer size)? or did you get different sizes? It’s looks so nice and cohesive – definitely want to try to get this look.

I can hear all your excitement for your amazing kitchen just borned after 9 months, lol! FABULOUS, I’m totally smitten with it…SWOONnnnn!!!!!!!!!! The most wonderful kitchen remodel lately Melissa, congrats honey and enjoy it! I also love Jack, he looks great in the new kitchen too, lol….
Big hugs,
FABBY

You need to take your right hand, place it over your left shoulder and PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK for a job well done! I too, would like to know- where did you get the piece of art w/the Portland, OR locations? I must have one :)

I have been following your blog for a long time, I look forward to seeing your email in my inbox and I love your new kitchen! We are getting ready for a kitchen remodel ourselves. My question is, do you miss the upper cabinets? Do you have more lower cabinets than in your old kitchen? Where do you put everything that was in the uppers? Sorry for all the questions, I don’t know anyone without upper cabinets and am very curious. Thanks

I never comment on the design blogs or pages I visit…but this kitchen is simply perfection and I had to write! I style homes for photo shoots and this kitchen is a dream. Bravo on the details and love seen in every inch of this space. I would move in tomorrow!

Do you happen to know the paint # for Glidden Polished Grey? I can’t seem to find the actual paint # anywhere. Thank you so much!!! I LOVE your kitchen by the way! I’m remodeling a 50 year old farm house and am painting the cabinets white and want to paint the walls the same color as yours!

I had to go to the Glidden paint counter and ask to see Glidden Wood Smoke in a lightened version. You can ask them which one is called Polished Grey if there isn’t a name on it, I’m not sure what the number is but they should be able to look it up. (I just ran out to the garage to look for the paint can or a number and of course, I can’t find it. Sorry!)

I love your kitchen. It is exactly what I want to do to mine. Can you please share the paint color you used on the walls. If you painted the cabinets I would like to know that color too. Looks beautiful…

Thank you for your blog! We are purchasing a fixer-upper that has the exact kitchen layout as your old kitchen. Your ideas are so helpful! I am also short, so removing the upper cabinets is a no-brainer. I will just add storage elsewhere.

Beautiful and charming from tip to toe. I love that you lost the extra dining table in favor of the seating area. I’ve got two right on top of each other. If I could choose which on to ditch, I’d do the same thing!!

Your kitchen is beautiful. You have a wonderful eye for color, design, and texture. I am struggling with the details in our kitchen renovation. Would you mind sharing the shade of the grout and the subway tiles? We are having subway tiles (in some shade of white) installed as the backslash in out kitchen with a grayish grout (which I am having trouble selecting). Details! :) Thank you!

I was so excited when I saw this in BHG because I have nearly the exact same kitchen, and I also HATE the peninsula! The eat-in area on the other side is the only one we have, so being able to expand into the kitchen would be great during the holidays. So great to be able to see what it would look like without the peninsula and with my builder standard oak cabinets painted gray. Totally copying you!Beth recently posted..How I Systematized My Biz

Hi Melissa!
I have loved your kitchen for a while now! And now that we are nearing the completion of ours, I just went back & noticed your fridge area. On the right hand side of your refrigerator the white wall (that makes it look a little more custom) does it go down all the way to the floor? Or does it rest on top of your counter tops?

We don’t have a lot of space left over to put a thick board on each side of the fridge. But we CAN make it to where it will sit on top of the countertops on each side. Is that what you did?

Hi Kellie! Ours actually goes all the way down to the floor, but I don’t see any reason why it would have to if you didn’t have room! Can’t wait to see how your kitchen turns out! Have fun :) xoMelissa recently posted..25 Ideas for Christmas Decorating

I love everything about your kitchen makeover! All the finishes are so beautiful. You may chuckle when you hear that your kitchen is the inspiration for my camper-van makeover :) I was going for a white-gray-blue color scheme and had already painted all the cabinets pure white. Today I painted the tiny 3′ bank of kitchen cabinets Kendall Charcoal. It’s such a luscious color. Sherwin Williams mixed it perfectly.

Love your kitchen! Do you mind telling me what the distance is between the counters and the island? I am in the process of planning a kitchen and was going the way of your old layout, now wondering if I would have room to do an island instead!!